Politics
famous faces, many blacked-out pages
WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department has begun releasing a long-awaited cache of records from its investigations into the politically explosive case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — though much of the material remained heavily redacted.
Among the trove released Friday are numerous photographs depicting former Democratic president Bill Clinton and other luminaries, including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, in Epstein’s social circle.
The sweeping blackouts across many of the documents – combined with tight control over the release by officials in President Donald Trump’s administration – stoked skepticism over whether this disclosure will silence conspiracy theories of a high-level cover-up.
In one example, a 119-page document labeled “Grand Jury-NY” is entirely redacted. Also, seven pages listing 254 masseuses have every name buried beneath thick black bars alongside the note, “redacted to protect potential victim information.”
Even so, the files shed some light on the disgraced financier’s intimate ties to the rich, famous and powerful – Trump, once a close friend, among them.
At least one file contains dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures. Others show Epstein and companions, their faces obscured, posing with firearms.
Previously unseen photographs include Maxwell with disgraced former prince Andrew, pictured lying across the legs of five people.
Another photo shows a youthful-looking Clinton lounging in a hot tub, part of the image blacked out.
In another, Clinton swims alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
A ‘fraction’ of the evidence
The White House wasted no time seizing on Clinton’s appearances.
“Slick Willy! @BillClinton just chillin, without a care in the world. Little did he know…” Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X.
Clinton’s spokesman Angel Urena responded to the newly released files by saying the country “expects answers, not scapegoats.”
“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves,” Urena wrote on X.
Democrats – and a handful of Republicans – voiced frustration that the release fell far short of what was mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for the release, said it “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.”
That law required the government’s entire case file to be posted publicly by Friday, constrained only by legal and victim privacy concerns.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would “pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out.”
Trump spent months trying to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The Republican president ultimately bowed to mounting pressure from Congress – including members of his own party – and last month signed the law compelling publication of the materials by Friday.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledged in a letter to Congress that the Friday release was incomplete, and that the Justice Department would complete production of files in the coming weeks.
Prosecutors retain discretion to withhold material tied to active investigations, and Blanche said files had also been redacted to protect the identities of Epstein’s hundreds of victims.
‘Democrat hoax’
Trump once moved in the same Palm Beach and New York party scene as Epstein, appearing with him at events throughout the 1990s. He severed ties years before Epstein’s 2019 arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing in the case.
But his right-wing base has long fixated on the Epstein saga and conspiracy theories alleging the financier ran a sex trafficking ring for the global elite.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to release all the files. Yet after returning to office, he dismissed the transparency push as a “Democrat hoax.”
Trump’s Justice Department ignited a political firestorm in July with a memo declaring there would be no further disclosures from the Epstein probe and his fabled “client list” did not exist before the president bowed to pressure.
Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes, and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for the former teacher and banker, whose death was ruled a suicide.
Iran said it had forced a US warship to turn back from entering the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, although US Central Command quickly denied a report of a missile strike.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters Iran had fired a warning shot and that it was unclear whether the warship had been damaged.
Oil prices jumped 5% on renewed concerns that the vital oil route, already shut for over two months at huge cost to the global economy, would remain blocked for considerably longer, with little sign of progress towards a negotiated resolution of Washington’s conflict with Iran.
Iran’s navy said it had prevented “American-Zionist” warships from entering the Strait area by issuing a “swift and decisive warning”.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said two missiles had hit the warship near the port of Jask at the southern entrance to the strait, but Centcom denied that any warship had been struck.
It said its forces were supporting President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom”, which aims to “guide out” commercial ships stranded in the Gulf by the US-Israeli war on Iran, and were enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump gave few details of his plan to aid ships and their crews who have been confined to the vital waterway and are running low on food and other supplies. Shipping companies gave no sign of being ready to resume sailings.
“We have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday.
Iranian military’s warning
In response to Trump’s announcement, Iran’s unified command told commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement that was not coordinated with Iran’s military.
“We have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces,” Ali Abdollahi, head of the forces’ unified command, said in the statement.
“We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US Army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iran has blocked nearly all shipping into and out of the Gulf apart from its own since the start of the war, cutting off around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments and sending oil prices soaring by 50% or more.
Centcom said it would support Trump’s “Project Freedom” with 15,000 military personnel and more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, plus warships and drones.
“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the Centcom commander, said in a statement.
‘Convoys not a solution’
Hundreds of commercial vessels and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, the International Maritime Organisation says.
Container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday its risk assessment was unchanged and that transit through the strait was still not possible.
Numerous executives from the shipping and oil industries have said they need an end to hostilities and some form of peace deal because military convoys alone are not enough to allow normal traffic to resume safely.
The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking an empty crude oil tanker belonging to the Abu Dhabi state oil firm ADNOC with drones as it attempted to pass through the strait.
In a rare piece of good news, Pakistan said the US had handed over 22 crew from an Iranian container vessel that American forces had seized last month.
Islamabad, which has been trying to broker a peace deal, described the US move as a “confidence-building measure”.
The Trump administration has been seeking help from other countries to secure shipping in the Strait. Centcom said the latest effort announced by Trump would combine “diplomatic action with military coordination”.
It was not immediately clear which countries the US operation would aid or how the operation would work. It will not necessarily include US Navy ships escorting commercial ships, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said in a post on X.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump said any interference with the US operation would have to be “dealt with forcefully”.
Iran reviews US response to peace proposal
The United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, and US and Iranian officials held one round of face-to-face talks. But attempts to set up further meetings have failed.
Iranian state media said on Sunday Washington had conveyed its response to a 14-point Iranian proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it. Neither side gave details.
A senior Iranian official has confirmed that Tehran envisages ending the war on all fronts — including Israel’s attacks on Lebanon — and resolving the shipping standoff first, while leaving talks on Iran’s nuclear programme for later.
Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400kg (900 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, which the United States says could power a bomb.
Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful, although it is willing to discuss some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions. It had accepted such curbs in a 2015 deal that Trump abandoned.
Trump is under pressure to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz to try to prevent soaring gasoline prices, causing a voter backlash against his Republican Party in midterm congressional elections in November.
- Votes still being counted under tight security.
- Modi’s BJP has never won before in West Bengal.
- BJP wages aggressive campaign to dislodge regional party.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed a “record” victory on Monday in key elections in opposition-held West Bengal state after official trends and partial results showed a thumping majority for his Hindu nationalist party.
Votes were still being counted under tight security in the state of more than 100 million people, one of five states and territories that held elections in April and May where results were also being announced on Monday.
The results should put Modi on a stronger footing while he battles a series of economic and foreign policy challenges, including high unemployment rates and a pending US trade deal, ahead of a general election in 2029.
In keenly fought West Bengal, where Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has never won before, the party was leading in 156 of the 293 seats and had won 48 others, according to the Election Commission of India.
“The 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections will be remembered forever,” Modi said on social media. “People’s power has prevailed and BJP’s politics of good governance has triumphed.”
“BJP’s record win in West Bengal would not be possible without the efforts and struggles of countless Karyakartas (workers) over generations,” Modi said.
Senior party leaders and thousands of supporters celebrated on the streets of the state capital Kolkata, joyously swaying to victory tunes.
The BJP, the ruling party in the national parliament, waged an aggressive campaign to dislodge the powerful regional party of firebrand leader Mamata Banerjee, in power in West Bengal since 2011.
Scuffles broke out outside several counting centres in the state, and police used batons to control the crowd. Past elections have resulted in violence.
This campaign was marked by protests over the removal of millions of names from voter rolls, billed as removing ineligible voters but which critics said was skewed against marginalised and minority communities.
- Iran says it stopped ‘American-Zionist’ ships entering Hormuz.
- US military denies Iranian Fars report of missile strikes.
- Trump says US starting operation to aid stranded ships.
DUBAI/DORAL: Iran said it had forced a US warship to turn back from entering the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, although US Central Command quickly denied a report of a missile strike.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters Iran had fired a warning shot and that it was unclear whether the warship had been damaged.
Oil prices jumped 5% on renewed concerns that the vital oil route, already shut for over two months at huge cost to the global economy, would remain blocked for considerably longer, with little sign of progress towards a negotiated resolution of Washington’s conflict with Iran.
Iran’s navy said it had prevented “American-Zionist” warships from entering the Strait area by issuing a “swift and decisive warning”.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said two missiles had hit the warship near the port of Jask at the southern entrance to the strait, but Centcom denied that any warship had been struck.
It said its forces were supporting President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom”, which aims to “guide out” commercial ships stranded in the Gulf by the US-Israeli war on Iran, and were enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump gave few details of his plan to aid ships and their crews who have been confined to the vital waterway and are running low on food and other supplies. Shipping companies gave no sign of being ready to resume sailings.
“We have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday.
Iranian military’s warning
In response to Trump’s announcement, Iran’s unified command told commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement that was not coordinated with Iran’s military.
“We have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces,” Ali Abdollahi, head of the forces’ unified command, said in the statement.
“We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US Army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iran has blocked nearly all shipping into and out of the Gulf apart from its own since the start of the war, cutting off around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments and sending oil prices soaring by 50% or more.
Centcom said it would support Trump’s “Project Freedom” with 15,000 military personnel and more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, plus warships and drones.
“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the Centcom commander, said in a statement.
‘Convoys not a solution’
Hundreds of commercial vessels and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, the International Maritime Organisation says.
Container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday its risk assessment was unchanged and that transit through the strait was still not possible.
Numerous executives from the shipping and oil industries have said they need an end to hostilities and some form of peace deal because military convoys alone are not enough to allow normal traffic to resume safely.
The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking an empty crude oil tanker belonging to the Abu Dhabi state oil firm ADNOC with drones as it attempted to pass through the strait.
In a rare piece of good news, Pakistan said the US had handed over 22 crew from an Iranian container vessel that American forces had seized last month.
Islamabad, which has been trying to broker a peace deal, described the US move as a “confidence-building measure”.
The Trump administration has been seeking help from other countries to secure shipping in the Strait. Centcom said the latest effort announced by Trump would combine “diplomatic action with military coordination”.
It was not immediately clear which countries the US operation would aid or how the operation would work. It will not necessarily include US Navy ships escorting commercial ships, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said in a post on X.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump said any interference with the US operation would have to be “dealt with forcefully”.
Iran reviews US response to peace proposal
The United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, and US and Iranian officials held one round of face-to-face talks. But attempts to set up further meetings have failed.
Iranian state media said on Sunday Washington had conveyed its response to a 14-point Iranian proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it. Neither side gave details.
A senior Iranian official has confirmed that Tehran envisages ending the war on all fronts — including Israel’s attacks on Lebanon — and resolving the shipping standoff first, while leaving talks on Iran’s nuclear programme for later.
Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400kg (900 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, which the United States says could power a bomb.
Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful, although it is willing to discuss some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions. It had accepted such curbs in a 2015 deal that Trump abandoned.
Trump is under pressure to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz to try to prevent soaring gasoline prices, causing a voter backlash against his Republican Party in midterm congressional elections in November.
Iran says it forced US warship back from Strait of Hormuz
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